Nuchal Scan - Bath RUH or Fetal Medicine Centre?

[twocatsonthebed]

Down here, I don't automatically get a nuchal scan, despite being 40. Dp and I are prepared to pay for one, and could either get it done at the RUH in Bath (our local hospital but still 40 mins away) or travel to London and use the Fetal Medicine Centre (which, curiously, is cheaper!).

My main worry about going to London is if I need amnio or CVS, having to travel back afterwards.

Does anyone have experience of either of those, and advice?

Is it cheaper if you take into account travelling costs and time though?

funnily enough, yes. Bath £275 more expensive, which almost makes it worth the couple of extra hours it will take to get to London.

I don't have any experience of RUH or indeed the Fetal Medicine Centre, but what I can say is when I had my nuchal fold and amnio done, an overwhelming amount of mumsnetters highly recommended the fetal medicine centre, particularly because their miscarriage rates as a result of amnio were very good. Like you, I didn't relish a long journey after amnio so had mine done at our local hospital, however, might be worth considering staying overnight somewhere?

Good luck for your nuchal scan.

twocats - with this preganncy I had a nuchal and triple test at the FMC (my scan at the hospital came back indicating high risk) and can recommend them (there are lots of positive posts in the archives). I told them when I heard the results that I wanted a CVS, and they did it there and then. I wasn't in any physical pain or discomfort afterwards (it was all emotional).
I had my scan on the Thursday, and it takes two working days for the results, so I had to wait till Monday to find out, which was a killer, so maybe bear that in mind and go for an early week appointment.
Also, Bath trains come into Paddington don't they? Not too far from there to the FMC (you're in the right part of town) so the journey shouldn't be too complicated.
Good luck with it all.

I had my nuchal scan at the Bupa Women's Hospital in Bristol - about £180. Would be quicker for you than travelling to London. Think the private Nuffield Hospital in Bristol charges about the same. I'm not sure if they do CVS or amnio though.

I had all my detailed scans inc Nuchal scan and x2 CVS at the Fetal Med Ctr. They are fantastic there and thats all they do so they are very experienced. If you have a CVS or an amnio only the Professor will do it and he has a very low miscarriage rate which is vital. I had mine on a wednesday and got the result on the Friday. As these tests (cvs and amnio) are invasive and a risk, I would only encourage you to go to the best man and I feel he is. I am 41 and I started reading articles about him when I was 18 and there and then I decided that I would only go to him and I did when I was preg and my 2 are now 3.5 and 2.5.

The very best of luck.

Oh, felt abit crampy afterwards and was encouraged to sit for half an hour. Felt abit lightheaded and emotional the first time and I think that was because I was so relieved it was all over. I got a taxi home. I recommend you are driven or you are accompanied if you take the train.

Thankyou everyone for all of this and your nice thoughts.

I've had a scout through the archives (thankyou Pacinofan, forgot about that!) and think that it's worth the extra effort to go to the FMC, especially as I'm quite likely to need CVS. And like you say, Chicpea, worth going to the best man. I've spoken to the clinic and they say there's no issue with going home after, and dp will be with me for the train back, so it should be as OK as it can be.

I also had all my scans and my nuchal scan done at the FMC and couldn't recommend it more. My nuchal reading was difficult to get obtain and the NHS scanner couldn't get a reading because I had a tilted uterus. Somehow they were able to get a reading at the FMC, though. They are also good at really advising you about whether you should have further testing - i.e. CVS or amnio. I am 38 yrs old and really felt well-informed by them as to whether further testing was needed. I did not get this from the NHS. I hope this helps.

Hi just seen your message and wanted to say I went to the London fetal centre and it was brilliant , very professional , great supportive service , very calm environment I would recomend it to anyone - I was surprised how cheap it was as the service is worth 5 x the price - only place you get the results on the same day - would say if you needed the other tests then worth paying for hotel as the service was amazing at the fetal centre.. Really reassured me!!

Hi. My GP, being a dreadful and uncaring old duffer did not bother to refer me for my booking appointment. Hence, when I called St Marys they had to book me on the phone there and then. My first ante natal appointment would have been at 16 weeks. We therefore booked a Nuchal Scam at the FMC at 12 weeks. It is so worth the 150 pounds. They are wonderful... you don't feel rushed whatsover and can ask as many questions as you like. We took away about 10 pics, some of them 3D.. they had just got the scanner that week. Book FMC, they are fab

twocatsonthebed, I had both of my children in Bath and although I did not have a nuchal scan my personal experience of my treatment in RUH with ds (5 years ago) wasn't great. I realise I am only one person and many people have possibly had much better experiences. Plus part of the issue about RUH was feeling like an anonymous number on a conveyor belt and I am not sure that changes whereever one goes.

Given the choice, I would always go to the FMC. they have much better and clearer machines with experienced staff that know what they are looking for. Also you want an experienced doctor doing or supervising a CVS/amnio. You can travel on the train after a CVS but better to be accompanied because you might feel slightly crampy and emotional.

thankyou very much everyone - I'm now booked in at the FMC, and will be accompanied on the train as advised (and if it all gets too much, I have people I can stay with in London). All the advice and help very much appreciated.

Just in case anyone digs this up out of the archive, I went to the FMC and they were superb - really took their time over the scan and double checked things, kept explaining what we were looking at and why, and were well worth every penny of the £150 and trip to London. So thankyou to everyone who took their time to advise me.

And the results were good - despite being an old crock, I have the risk factors of a 31 year old, so no further tests needed. Hurrah for that.

twocatsonthebed, how old are you? I am 42 and 9.3 weeks pregnant.I live in Cardiff and we dont get nuchal fold scans here,so I am wondering if I should get one at bupa,then on the other hand is it worth paying for one if because of my age I will be considered high risk anyway.I had two miscarriages last year and Iam trying every way to convince myself that a nuchal scan would be enough to convince me of my babies good health.I really dont want to put my babies health at risk if a scan would give me a realistic percentage based on results and not on age.Have you any info regarding this.

Hi Stingray
I was 41 (Jan 06) and went to BUPA in Bristol for combined nuchal and blood test. I too knew that I would be a higher risk because of age although we didn't know the exact figures before the test. The risk for downs based on age alone was 1:37 and Edwards 1:68 - we hadn't realised the risk would be so high for age and it came as a horrible shock when the risk increased for downs to 1:21 after the test. With hindsight I wish I'd better prepared myself for the age related figure before the test and although we went on to have amnio (which was all clear) personally I'm not sure I'd do the same thing again as the stress and worry over the test results was horrible.

For us the results went the wrong way for DS but the edwards result after the test improved to 1:4500 ish so its entirely possible that the results could improve on your age related risk. It may be worth speaking to one of the consultants at BUPA (I did after my results and they were so reassuring and helpful) as it may help you to weigh up whether to go ahead or what you would do if the results were not as hoped for -Good luck

hello stingray,

i'm 40, so, based on age alone, my odds for Downs Syndrome would be 1 in 80.

I personally decided the scan was worth paying for, because if it improved my odds enough, then I wouldn't have to undergo the risks of CVS or amnio. The average risk of miscarriage from those is 1 in 100, so we decided that we would only have them if the risks of any abnormalities was less than that.

As it turned out, I was lucky, and my risk was reduced to 1 in 580, so I didn't go for any invasive testing.

It's a shame that the archive search is broken; there are several other threads in which people had their odds considerably improved by the nuchal scan and so didn't have to go for CVS or amnio.

Obviously it's a personal choice, but having had a miscarriage, I was very keen to avoid anything that might damage this pregnancy unnecessarily. And certainly in my case the scan improved the odds a great deal.

Hope this helps!

Hi twocatsonthebed, thankyou so much for the info you sent,I have emailed bupa in cardiff to arrange a nuchal scan,and hope to be as lucky as you were with the results.My husband and i decided last night to do the same as you, and accept the result if it is good,and go for the amnio if our result was poor.wish me luck!

Hi twocatsonthebed, thankyou so much for the info you sent,I have emailed bupa in cardiff to arrange a nuchal scan,and hope to be as lucky as you were with the results.My husband and i decided last night to do the same as you, and accept the result if it is good,and go for the amnio if our result was poor.wish me luck!

Good luck Stingray - and it's worth remembering what someine pointed out to me that even if your odds are low at 1 in 100, that's still a 99% chance that everything will be fine.

Hope it all goes well for you!

I had the Nuchal scan in Bath - but I went to the Bath Clinic - cheaper than the RUH (?!!) and it was with the same consultant ... ?!!